Planning systems that graphically display the results of a computation are known in the prior art. For example, a planning system may display a series of tasks needed to accomplish a desired result given a set of input conditions. The planning system may even schedule the tasks in a calendar-type display as needed. For the calendar-type display case, a user typically provides to the planning system at least: a start date, an end date, and a set of goals to be accomplished between the beginning and end dates.
In general, the planning system will display a single method for accomplishing the desired goals. If the user is interested in a single result of planning computation for a set of goals, the currently known methodologies may be satisfactory. However, if the user wishes to explore the results for a number of different independent variable goals, the known methodologies are often unsatisfactory.
Another type of known software, process editors, allows users to specify and arrange a set of tasks or activities. The process editors then display the process specified by the user. The process editors may optionally check the validity and feasibility of the process specified by the user. However, the process editors do not automatically create or suggest a process for a given set of goals and tasks.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved user interface for graphically displaying the results of a planning computation. This and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.